utbagpiper
Banned
imported post
Generally, the UHP does a pretty good job. But I think they way over-reacted to an anonymous call. Glad nobody had an ND while pointing a gun at an innocent man. But unless the caller is tracked down and punished if this was intentional, looks like a convenient way to get the State to make life miserable for anyone you think cuts you off or otherwise offends you in traffic. Don't call in a DUI. Call in a "man with a gun". And in that regard, a little scarey for all the legal gun carriers.
Charles
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=9231042
NEPHI -- A Nephi man is speaking out after he was stopped by police on the freeway in Utah County, ordered out of his truck at gunpoint and handcuffed on the ground. In the end, it turned out he had done nothing wrong and troopers were only following up on a 911 call.
The Utah Highway Patrol says it was only responding to the 911 caller who told dispatchers a man was armed with a gun and was fighting with a woman in the truck. He even gave the license plate number and gave troopers updates on their current location on I-15.
The caller, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the 911 dispatcher, "He's been waving it. It looks to be a .45-caliber. He's been waving it around the last couple of miles." [CLICK HERE to listen to portions of the 911 calls released to KSL. The license plate information has been cut out per UHP policy.]
As it turned out, it was an unarmed man with his parents. Brent Boswell said they were frightened to be stopped by armed troopers in what, until then, had been a peaceful Christmas night.
Boswell said he cooperated with the troopers, who at gunpoint, had him drop his keys out of the truck, then walk backward in the dark and get on the ground. He was then handcuffed and kept on the ground for several minutes, until troopers determined there was no threat.
"I kept saying I know they were only doing their job and they were professional," recalled Boswell. "I have some questions about as to why they put so much credibility into what seems to be an anonymous phone call, and I have some questions about why I was lying on the ground for as long as I was."
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Nigbur said, "We're not going to apologize for what we did. We have to respond that way, and there's no other way to respond to that, we just have to do it that way. But we also feel for him and his inconvenience and the things he had to go through. It's not fun to be pulled out by gunpoint, and it's not fun to be handcuffed."
The highway patrol declined our request for the dash-camera video of the traffic stop until the investigation is finished. So far, investigators have not been able to determine who made the 911 call.
The Boswells say they aren't planning any lawsuits against the highway patrol but do want to see a statewide policy change in how these mistaken felony stops are handled after the fact.
Generally, the UHP does a pretty good job. But I think they way over-reacted to an anonymous call. Glad nobody had an ND while pointing a gun at an innocent man. But unless the caller is tracked down and punished if this was intentional, looks like a convenient way to get the State to make life miserable for anyone you think cuts you off or otherwise offends you in traffic. Don't call in a DUI. Call in a "man with a gun". And in that regard, a little scarey for all the legal gun carriers.
Charles
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=9231042
NEPHI -- A Nephi man is speaking out after he was stopped by police on the freeway in Utah County, ordered out of his truck at gunpoint and handcuffed on the ground. In the end, it turned out he had done nothing wrong and troopers were only following up on a 911 call.
The Utah Highway Patrol says it was only responding to the 911 caller who told dispatchers a man was armed with a gun and was fighting with a woman in the truck. He even gave the license plate number and gave troopers updates on their current location on I-15.
The caller, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the 911 dispatcher, "He's been waving it. It looks to be a .45-caliber. He's been waving it around the last couple of miles." [CLICK HERE to listen to portions of the 911 calls released to KSL. The license plate information has been cut out per UHP policy.]
As it turned out, it was an unarmed man with his parents. Brent Boswell said they were frightened to be stopped by armed troopers in what, until then, had been a peaceful Christmas night.
Boswell said he cooperated with the troopers, who at gunpoint, had him drop his keys out of the truck, then walk backward in the dark and get on the ground. He was then handcuffed and kept on the ground for several minutes, until troopers determined there was no threat.
"I kept saying I know they were only doing their job and they were professional," recalled Boswell. "I have some questions about as to why they put so much credibility into what seems to be an anonymous phone call, and I have some questions about why I was lying on the ground for as long as I was."
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Nigbur said, "We're not going to apologize for what we did. We have to respond that way, and there's no other way to respond to that, we just have to do it that way. But we also feel for him and his inconvenience and the things he had to go through. It's not fun to be pulled out by gunpoint, and it's not fun to be handcuffed."
The highway patrol declined our request for the dash-camera video of the traffic stop until the investigation is finished. So far, investigators have not been able to determine who made the 911 call.
The Boswells say they aren't planning any lawsuits against the highway patrol but do want to see a statewide policy change in how these mistaken felony stops are handled after the fact.
